IRC 2026 Closes with Calls for Agile Governance and Greater Platform Accountability
The International Regulatory Conference (IRC) 2026 concluded here yesterday with a strong call for agile digital governance, enhanced platform accountability, and robust international cooperation to strengthen a secure digital ecosystem. Organised by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) under the theme ‘Shaping the Next Digital Era: Regulation, Resilience and Trust,’ the two-day event was attended by over 500 global regulators, industry leaders, policymakers, academics, and students.
Inaugurating the conference on Tuesday, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil stressed that trust remains a central challenge in the modern digital landscape, especially as technological developments far outpace existing legal frameworks. ‘Trust has become the defining challenge of the next digital era. Can citizens trust the platforms they use, the information they consume, and the digital systems that increasingly shape their daily lives? Technology has evolved far faster than many of the frameworks designed to govern it,’ he said. Fahmi also highlighted key national initiatives, including the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA), the 5G network rollout, and the National Digital Network (JENDELA), which aim to protect users while fostering innovation.
Throughout the two-day conference, delegates addressed critical priorities ranging from online safety and social media age restrictions to data protection, legal frameworks, and the emergence of quantum technology. In his keynote address, MCMC Commissioner Derek John Fernandez urged that legal protections in the digital realm be made equivalent to those in the physical world to better safeguard vulnerable groups. Lamenting the lack of digital protections compared to strict real-world age restrictions, he revealed that the MCMC currently handles up to three reports of child sexual abuse material daily and executes approximately 1,700 harmful content takedowns daily to address the digital gap.
On data governance and cybersecurity, a panel featuring representatives from Ericsson, Maxis, Shopee, and TNG Digital emphasised that data sovereignty, local encryption, and consumer transparency are essential prerequisites for maintaining digital trust. The second day of the conference focused on strengthening content dissemination and human autonomy, with Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) Chief Executive Officer Mediha Mahmood calling for regulatory oversight to go beyond fact-checking and scrutinise the frequency of content distribution and algorithmic recommendations.
In the health sector, Ministry of Health Digital Health Division Director Dr. A. Maheshwara Rao outlined the expansion of the MySejahtera platform, noting that its database of nearly 40 million people is now being leveraged to support national health targets, including a public weight loss goal of 10 million kilogrammes by 2027. On human capital development, Government-Industry TVET Coordination Body (GITC) Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Jamil Bakri called for a paradigm shift from qualification-based education to a competency-oriented talent ecosystem to meet industry demands.
Additionally, legal experts and international specialists affirmed that Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) remains technology-neutral and robust enough to adapt to emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Head of Strategic Planning and Membership Sulyna Abdullah praised the inherent flexibility of the CMA, stating that effective governance for new technologies must be agile, adaptive, and anticipatory. From a regional perspective, ASEAN Secretariat representative Hazremi Hamid announced that negotiations on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), the world’s first legally binding regional digital economy pact, have been completed, with final signing expected at the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines this November.
In her closing remarks, Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching revealed that the MCMC had issued over 377,000 content removal requests from 1 January to 15 July this year alone, averaging nearly 1,900 requests daily. ‘The public will not judge technology solely by its sophistication; they will judge it by whether it is safe, fair, and worthy of their trust. Technology and accountability must evolve together,’ she said.